The first iPhone went on sale 15 years today – and it changed everything

It’s been 15 years since the original iPhone went on sale and became one of the biggest consumer technology products of all time.

Put simply, it revolutionised the way we use our mobile devices.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone during a legendary keynote in San Francisco on January 9, 2007 and went on sale on June 29, 2007.

Since then, more than 2.2 billion iPhones have been sold worldwide.

But in 2007 the original iPhone was only available in the US and then later in the UK.

In 2007, customers began lining up outside Apple’s Fifth Avenue store in New York a week before it officially went on sale and for years afterwards the line to buy an iPhone on launch day would become a fixture outside every Apple Store.

The device was so popular, many Australians, including myself, purchased the iPhone in the US and unlocked it to use on Australian networks.

But many Australians who unlocked the original iPhone were stung with massive bills because their plans were only designed for talk and text rather than data which was, at the time, an expensive commodity on our cellular networks

The standout feature of that original iPhone was the multi-touch touchscreen display which allowed you to scroll through contacts with a flick of your finger and pinch to zoom in and out of your photos.

Compared with the current iPhones, the original iPhone was quite primitive in comparison.

It was a 2G device with no front camera, no rear flash, a sealed battery, no expandable memory and had a 3.5-inch display.

Australians wouldn’t get their first official taste of the iPhone until 2008 with the launch of the iPhone 3G.

The iPhone 3G launched in Australia on July 11, 2008 with capped plans offering between 100MB and 1GB of data on two-year contracts.

One of the biggest by-products of the iPhone was its ability to run apps.

In fact, the App Store opened in 2008 at around the same time the iPhone 3G went on sale in Australia.

Today the App Store is home to millions of apps that not only cater for the iPhone but also for the iPad (launched in 2010) and the Apple Watch (launched in 2015).

It is also created a multi-billion-dollar app developer industry that has generated tens of billions of dollars and created jobs for millions of people around the world.

Later this year Apple will release the iPhone 14.

Rumours suggest there will be four devices the iPhone 14 with a 6.1-inch display, the iPhone 14 Plus with a 6.7-inch display along with the iPhone 14 Pro which will include a triple camera system and a 6.1-inch display and the iPhone 14 Pro Max with its 6.7-inch display.

The iPhone 14 Pro models will also reportedly have no notch at the top of the screen with hole punches in the display making way for the sensors and front facing cameras.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE iPHONE

2007: iPhone

4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities.

Camera: 2-megapixel

2008: iPhone 3G – sold one million units in first weekend.

8GB and 16GB capacities

Camera: 2-megapixel

2009: iPhone 3GS

8GB, 16GB AND 32GB capacities

Camera: 3-megapixel

2010: iPhone 4

8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities

Camera: 5-megapixel with rear flash, front camera 0.3-megapixel

2011: iPhone 4S – introduction of Siri

8GB, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities

Camera: 5-megapixel with rear flash, front camera 0.3-megapixel

2012: iPhone 5 – introduction of larger 4-inch display

16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities

Camera: 8-megapixel with rear flash, front camera 1.2-megapixel

2013: iPhone 5S – introduction of Touch ID

16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities

Camera: 8-megapixel with rear flash, front camera 1.2-megapixel

2013: iPhone 5C – 4-inch display with colour polycarbonate shell

8GB and 32GB capacities

Camera: 8-megapixel with rear flash, front camera 1.2-megapixel

2014: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus – introduction of larger 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays

16GB, 32GB , 64GB and 128GB capacities

Camera: 8-megapixel with rear flash, front camera 1.2-megapixel

2015: iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus – introduction of 3D Touch screen

32GB , 64GB and 128GB capacities

Camera: 12-megapixel with rear flash, front camera 5-megapixel

2016: iPhone SE – 4-inch display with iPhone 5 design

32GB and 128GB capacities

Camera: 12-megapixel with rear flash, front camera 1.2-megapixel

2016: iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus – headphone jack removed.

64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities

Camera: 12-megapixel with rear flash, front camera 7-megapixel. iPhone 7 Plus has additional telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom.

2017: iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus  – 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays

64GB, 256GB capacities

Camera: iPhone 8 – single camera 12-megapixel. iPhone 8 Plus dual 12-megapixel

2017: iPhone X – 5.8-inch display – home button removed. Introduction of Face ID

Camera: Dual 12-megapixel.

2018: iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max

 

2018: iPhone XR

 

2019: iPhone 11

2019: iPhone 11 Pro

 

2020: iPhone 12 – redesign – first 5G iPhone

2020: iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max – redesign – first 5G iPhone

2021: iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Mini and iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro